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Markus Grosskopf | |
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 Grosskopf performing with Helloween in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 21 September 1965 Hamburg, West Germany |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Bass |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Member of | Helloween, Bassinvaders |
| Formerly of | Avantasia |
| Website | helloween |
Markus Grosskopf (born 21 September 1965) is a German musician best known as the bass guitarist, backing vocalist and a founding member of the power metal band Helloween. [1]
Grosskopf started playing bass at the age of 15 when he became friends with a drummer and a guitar player. They were looking for a bass player, so he bought his first bass and started jamming with covers of the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and the like. They covered songs from the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Sid Vicious, XTC, The Stranglers, and others. Some time later, he decided to leave in hope of finding a heavier band with more live playing opportunities, then he met Kai Hansen and his band Second Hell, with whom he started playing. The band soon joined forces with former Powerfool guitarist Michael Weikath and adopted the name Helloween, with the original lineup being Kai Hansen (guitars/vocals), Michael Weikath (guitars), Grosskopf (bass) and Ingo Schwichtenberg (drums).
Grosskopf writes some of the band's songs, which were initially mostly used as B-sides, but since Rabbit Don't Come Easy (which contained three songs credited to Markus), tracks written by him are regularly present on their albums.
In 2017, he and his bandmates Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, Sascha Gerstner, Andi Deris, Michael Weikath and Dani Löble participated in the 'Pumpkins United' Reunion Tour. [2]
Grosskopf's first side project was Shockmachine where he played both bass and rhythm guitars. They released their first album, Shockmachine, in 1998. He played bass on the first two albums of Edguy vocalist Tobias Sammet's project, Avantasia , issued in 2001 and 2002. He played on Uriah Heep members' arranged orchestral version of Salisbury released on video in 2001. [3]
He also worked with the band Kickhunter, which released in 2002 their first album Hearts and Bones on which Markus played the roles of bassist, guitarist and producer, then again on the Little Monsters album released in 2007. [4] His most recent endeavour is his bassguitar-focused side-project, Markus Grosskopf's Bassinvaders . [5]
In 2015, Grosskopf performed with Judas Priest in Belgrade, Serbia, and following it, performed in countries such as Russia, Japan, Australia and the United States. [6]
| This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(March 2017) |
Grosskopf's playing style has been known to include prominent basslines, and occasionally he has a solo such as in "Heavy Metal (Is the Law)" or "Eagle Fly Free", which is one of his most famous. He is known to use both his fingers and a pick, depending on the song. He regularly uses a pick for the more straightforward, simple bass lines, as in I Want Out or Just a Little Sign , and fingers for more lead-type playing, as on Eagle Fly Free or Halloween.
His playing style expanded on one of Helloween's more recent albums Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy , where many more bass solos and lead parts are heard, like "Invisible Man", "Light the Universe" and even some slap bass on the first single "Mrs. God", as well as "Goin' Home" from Pink Bubbles Go Ape , where one can hear slap for the first time in Helloween's discography. [7]
Regarding new ideas for the songs, he was quoted saying to the Metal Insider: "Sometimes I shout them into my mobile phone wherever I am at whether it be on a toilet, backstage, or somewhere else. There is a big collection of riffs and more saved up and I plan to sort all these out when I get home." [3]
Loudwire considered him one of the best hard rock/metal bassists of all time. [8]
Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. It is said that the band is one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. By the time Hansen left Helloween in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, the band had evolved into a five-piece, with Michael Kiske taking over as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both parted ways with Helloween in 1993; Schwichtenberg died two years later as the result of suicide. Between then and 2016, there had been numerous line-up changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. As a septet, their current lineup includes four-fifths of the Keeper of the Seven Keys: Parts I and II-era (1987–1988) lineup, featuring three additional members, vocalist Andi Deris, guitarist Sascha Gerstner and drummer Daniel Löble.
Kai Michael Hansen is a German musician who is the founder, lead guitarist and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also one of the co-founders of another power metal band Helloween, which he was a part of from 1983 to 1989 and rejoined in 2016. He is a prominent figure in power metal and has sold millions of albums worldwide. He is regarded as "the godfather of power metal", having founded two seminal bands in the genre. In 2011, he joined the band Unisonic featuring former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske. Hansen and Kiske reunited with Helloween in 2017 for a world tour with all current members, celebrating the 30-year anniversary of release of the albums Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I and II.
Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I is the second studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1987. It marks the first appearance of vocalist Michael Kiske, and is considered the album that created the genre of European-style power metal.
Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II is the third studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1988. The album sold well, and success bloomed all over Europe, Asia, and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany and reached No. 108 in the US.
Chameleon is the fifth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1993. It is their most musically adventurous release, but also their least commercially successful, and is their last studio album to feature singer Michael Kiske until 2021's self-titled album, as well as their last with original drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. It was Schwichtenberg's last album to be recorded during his lifetime. This was also the last album on EMI Records.
Pink Bubbles Go Ape is the fourth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1991. It marked the departure of guitarist Kai Hansen, with Roland Grapow replacing him. It was also the first album released on EMI Records.
Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy is the eleventh studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 2005. It is the first album with new and current drummer Dani Löble and a continuation of their 1987 and 1988 albums Keeper of the Seven Keys, Parts I and II. The album is a double CD with nearly 80 minutes playing time and comes in a digipack with 6 flaps. It was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and features Blackmore's Night singer Candice Night on the track "Light The Universe". The album's opening track, “The King for a 1000 Years” is, to date, the longest song released by the band.
Michael Ingo Joachim "Weiki" Weikath is a German musician, best known as a founding member and one of the guitarists of pioneering power metal band Helloween.
Walls of Jericho is the debut studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1985 on LP by Noise Records. It is the only album featuring Kai Hansen as lead vocalist until 2021's Helloween, although he would continue to act as guitarist on the two following albums.
Master of the Rings is the sixth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released in 1994. It is the first to feature new members Andi Deris and Uli Kusch.
Keeper of the Seven Keys is a four-part album series by Helloween, composed of the band's second, third, and eleventh full-length studio albums as well as their third live album.
"Mrs. God" is a song and single by German power metal band Helloween from their album Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy. The song is about the emancipation of women, showing Helloween's sense of humour. It was written by the band's vocalist Andi Deris.
"Future World" is a song and a single made by German power metal band Helloween, from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I. It is performed frequently by Helloween and Gamma Ray at their concerts.
"Dr. Stein" is a song by German power metal band Helloween. Taken from the 1988 album Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II, the song remains one of the band's most popular songs, and is played live at virtually every Helloween concert. The lyrics are based on the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
"I Want Out" is a song by German power metal band Helloween from the album Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II, that was released as a single in 1988.
"Kids of the Century" is a song and single by German power metal band Helloween taken from the album Pink Bubbles Go Ape. This is the first Helloween single with Roland Grapow playing guitars, replacing Kai Hansen.
Bassinvaders is the bass guitar-focused side project of Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf. The project is a unique heavy metal experiment which features only the bass guitar and does not include any conventional six-string electric or acoustic guitars. The project focuses on the bass guitar showcasing lead solo bass guitar, rhythm bass guitar and actual bass guitar along with accompanying drums.
Unarmed – Best of 25th Anniversary is the sixth compilation album by German power metal band Helloween. It is a compilation in celebration of the band's 25th anniversary, which contains re-recorded versions of Helloween songs in an acoustic/symphonic style. It includes a 70-piece Prague Symphony Orchestra performing "The Keeper's Trilogy", a 17-minute medley consisting of the songs "Halloween", "Keeper of the Seven Keys" and "The King for a 1000 Years". Many guest musicians are featured on the tracks.
Helloween is the sixteenth studio album by German power metal band Helloween, released on 18 June 2021. The album is the first released with the "Pumpkins United" line-up, which marked the return of original member Kai Hansen on guitars and vocals and Michael Kiske on vocals in 2016, in addition to the five-member line-up active since 2005.
9. Video interview on RockpagesTV (2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoIYWZl4CfE&t=22s
Media related to Markus Grosskopf at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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